Tag Archives: Thanksgiving

All 6,600 GameStop stores will be closed on Thanksgiving. The stores will open on midnight on November 28th, Black Friday.
In describing why it decided not to open on the holiday, the company said in a statement:
“At GameStop we often use the phrase “protect the family” in reference to our business. A large part of what that means to us is to not open any of our GameStop, SimplyMac, Spring Mobile or Cricket Wireless U.S. locations on Thanksgiving Day out of respect for our store associates and their families and friends. We believe it’s the right decision not only for our employees, but also for our customers. Enjoy this time with your loved ones and we’ll see you on Black Friday.”
GameStop joins a growing list of national retail chains that are announcing they will stay closed on Thanksgiving Day. American Girl, Burlington, Dillard’s, Coscto, Nordstrom, Patagonia, and REI have all confirmed they will be closed. Many cite similar rationales as GameStop’s. Costco said it will be closed because, “Our employees work especially hard during the holiday season and we simply believe that they deserve the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with their families.” Dillard’s explained, “We choose to remain closed on Thanksgiving in longstanding tradition of honoring of our customers’ and associates’ time with family.” Patagonia said simply, “It’s a holiday – we’re closed!”
That may sound logical, but Macy’s and Walmart have already said they’ll be open that day, meaning that employees will have to spend time at work instead of having a meal with family and friends. Last year, at least 10 other stores did the same thing. And that’s their prerogative, given hat the United States doesn’t guarantee paid holidays. Forty-five percent of service sector workers don’t get that benefit, and while the stores that open on the holiday say shifts are filled voluntarily, last year there were reports of workers being denied their requests to take the day off.
There may be little benefit from asking workers to come in on a holiday, however. Opening on Thanksgiving last year didn’t boost retailers’ sales above regular Black Friday numbers. The vast majority of shoppers said they weren’t going to shop on that day anyway. And half of them disapproved of the early openings, with 20 percent saying it made them less likely to shop at stores that opened on the holiday.